Four Pillars Community Housing

Redeveloping properties requires the temporary displacement of tenants, creating a significant challenge for housing providers and developers. The dual hurdles of finding suitable interim housing and managing financial constraints make the process complex and, at times, overwhelming.

Some social housing providers attempt to address this issue by keeping units vacant in other properties to house displaced tenants during redevelopment. While this helps to a degree, it is not an ideal solution as it reduces the overall availability of affordable housing—a resource already in critical demand.

This challenge is not limited to non-profit housing providers. Many development companies face the same issue with older buildings ready for redevelopment. Even when existing tenants are guaranteed housing at the same rental rates in the new development, the pressing question remains: Where can they be housed during the interim?

In addition, new housing legislation that permits gentle density increases on residential properties offers a promising opportunity. With tens of thousands of potential sites in Vancouver alone for secondary suites, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), duplexes, and multiplexes, we have the means to address this challenge—but a coordinated strategy is essential.

A Promising Opportunity

Recent housing legislation permitting gentle density increases on residential properties offers a pathway forward. Vancouver alone has tens of thousands of potential sites for secondary suites, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), duplexes, and multiplexes. These options could provide interim housing solutions for displaced tenants, but a coordinated strategy is essential to unlock this potential.

A Long-Term Solution

A sustainable approach requires a forward-thinking strategy to minimize disruption and ensure housing continuity during redevelopment. The solution lies in building ‘transitional or Interim Residences’— dedicated, purpose-built housing that can accommodate displaced tenants over the extended periods required for redevelopment.

Key features of this approach include:

Strategic Development: Purpose-built interim residences designed to house tenants temporarily, minimizing displacement and disruption.
Mixed Housing Options: Incorporating affordable, mid-market, and revenue-generating units to ensure financial sustainability.
Leveraging Legislation: Utilizing newly available density opportunities to create ADUs and multiplexes, providing additional housing capacity.

By proactively funding and creating sufficient interim housing, we can transform redevelopment from a disruptive necessity into a seamless and sustainable process. Together, we can ensure that redevelopment enhances communities without sacrificing housing security.

The challenge of constructing 3.5 million additional homes by 2030 may seem monumental, but it is achievable if we take action now. To meet this goal, Canada must increase its building capacity by 150%. This is a call to action for the housing sector: build better, faster, and more cost-effectively. It’s time for a national building spree to address the housing crisis and meet our communities’ needs.

1. Affordable Housing Approach

• Reduce Development and Finance Costs:
  Streamline processes to lower costs and accelerate timelines, leveraging mixed-income and mixed-use developments.
  • Examples: Incorporate sustainable revenue streams like hotel rooms, student and workplace housing, short-term rentals, and executive suites, alongside affordable homeownership and rent-to-own options.
• Increase and Speed Up Development:
  • Simplified Permitting: Reduce permitting and approval timelines, which currently take up to 11 months for single-family homes and over three years for mid-rise construction in cities like Vancouver.
  • Automated Production Systems: Use advanced technologies for faster delivery of housing solutions.

2. Housing Bonds for Affordable Funding

• Low-Interest Financing:
  Develop housing bonds to provide long-term, affordable funding for construction loans and mortgages.
  • Target: Achieve a 2% bond rate to significantly lower housing costs.
  • Innovative Incentives: Enable a portion of bondholders to donate their interest back in exchange for a charitable tax credit.
• Current Context:
  With mortgage rates at 6–6.5%, the cost per month for a 600 sq. ft. unit exceeds $1,000 on a 25-year term. Housing bonds can make these costs more manageable for developers and homeowners alike.

3. Reducing or Eliminating Land Costs

• Creative Land Use:
  Reduce land costs by leveraging strategies like:
  • Long-Term Leases: Secure 60–99-year leases to eliminate upfront land purchase costs.
  • Community Land Trusts: Retain land ownership within communities for long-term affordability.
  • Land Donations: Encourage donations from governments, industries, and landowners.
  • Redevelopment Opportunities: Utilize underperforming assets, such as aged-out buildings or strip malls, where landowners donate a portion of the land in exchange for density bonuses and reduced capital gains exposure.

4. Modular/Prefab Production and Delivery

• Next-Generation Housing Systems:
  • Scale modular and prefabricated construction methods for faster, more efficient building processes.
  • Utilize advanced technologies for low-, mid-, and high-density projects.

5. Leveraging SaaS (Software as a Service)

• Automating Housing Development:
  Implement SaaS solutions to streamline and de-risk housing production, benefiting non-profits, builders, and homeowners.
  • Simplified Processes: Use SaaS to automate permitting, legal, logistical, and financial tasks for non-market developments.
  • One-Click Access to Resources:
    • Enable access to self-directed RRSP funds to purchase housing bonds.
    • Simplify pre-approvals, bulk purchasing, and permitting for laneway homes, low- and mid-rise developments.
    • Integrate smart contracts and pre-sale systems to expedite project timelines.

By adopting this integrated delivery platform, we can address the housing crisis with innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions. Together, we can build the homes Canada needs and create thriving, inclusive communities.

Communitization: A Community-Driven Approach to Solving the Housing Crisis

An article in The Globe & Mail recently caught my attention: “We simply don’t have enough money to solve Canada’s housing crisis.” I couldn’t disagree more. The issue isn’t the lack of money—it’s the unsustainable reliance on government funding to address this challenge indefinitely. We need a different approach, one that empowers communities to lead the way with self-funding, market-driven solutions.

Rethinking the Housing Crisis

If government funding and increased housing supply were the solutions, we wouldn’t still face a growing affordability crisis. The estimated cost to “solve” the crisis is over two trillion dollars—a daunting figure that makes traditional solutions seem impossible. But there is another way: a path that mobilizes citizens, prioritizes housing, and drives community-led solutions.

One key idea is harnessing the financial power of Canadians. Today, bonds are widely used by governments and corporations to fund projects, offering investors financial returns. Canadians collectively hold more than $4 trillion in RRSP accounts. Imagine a quarter-trillion-dollar “war chest” mobilized for affordable housing—a self-sustaining resource driven by the savings of everyday Canadians.

A New Model for Housing: Communitization

Neither government nor the private sector has adequately addressed affordability. Over the past decade, the problem has worsened, becoming untenable. To achieve meaningful change by 2035, we need a community-driven development model that empowers the non-profit housing sector to deliver affordable housing at scale. This model includes four critical ingredients:

1. Zero-cost land
2. Below-market financing
3. Accelerated delivery
4. Long-term, sustainable revenue generation

We must move away from the financialization of housing, where speculation drives costs, and towards the communitization of housing, where the focus is on community benefit.

Solutions in Action

One part of the solution lies in redeveloping existing non-profit and social housing stock at higher densities. This can be funded through Affordable Housing Bonds. Further, leveraging modular and pre-fabricated construction technologies can increase production efficiency, while reducing municipal permitting times and fees can lower development costs. Revenue can be generated through near-market and market rentals, as well as commercial and retail spaces supporting social enterprises.

Revenue Generation: The Fourth Pillar

The Fourth Pillar is Revenue Generation—a critical component that makes large-scale affordable housing solutions viable without relying on long-term government financing commitments.

Even with zero-cost land, below-market mortgage rates, and expedited delivery and permitting systems, achieving affordability at scale remains a significant challenge. Revenue generation bridges this gap by leveraging creative, community-driven approaches.

Community Acceptance of Mixed-Use Development

A survey by the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary found broad market acceptance for mixed-use, multi-family, mixed-income developments in Metro Vancouver. Two-thirds of respondents expressed comfort with introducing new types of developments into their neighborhoods. This openness creates opportunities for innovative revenue-generating models that support affordability.

The Skwacháys Lodge: A Model of Success

One of the best examples of revenue generation in action is the Skwacháys Lodge & Gallery. This Indigenous social enterprise combines:

• 18 hotel rooms and
• A street-level Fair Trade Indigenous Gallery

The revenue generated by these operations subsidizes 24 artist live/work studios, demonstrating how mixed-use spaces can provide financial sustainability and community benefits.

Revenue-Generating Opportunities

Each development site should be viewed through a community lens and carefully evaluated to identify the best revenue generation strategies. Potential options include:

• Market and near-market rentals
• Workplace and student housing
• Short-term and executive suite rentals

Adding Commercial and Retail Spaces

The inclusion of Commercial Retail Units (CRUs) and office spaces can further enhance revenue streams. Examples include:

• Grocery stores
• Health clinics
• Pharmacies
• Retail shops
• Community office spaces

These components not only generate revenue but also enhance the livability and convenience of the surrounding community. The funds generated can then be reinvested into creating more affordable housing units for non-profit housing providers.